cv shaft removal frustrations - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

mazdaverx7 · 07-11-2006, 09:32 PM

im almost ready to drop the subframe and trans and replace the clutch on my 92 SE with a 3VZ, when the right cv wont budge. the left one came out in about 5 minutes. i consider myself an experienced mechanic, working at a mazda dealership as a tech for a year and spending 5 years in the army as a diesel mechanic, so i've tried the approaches i know. i removed the nut, broke the balljoint loose, and seperated the control arm from the hub assembly. i then removed the pinch bolt from the carrier bearing and removed the large retaining ring facing the passenger side of the car on the carrier bearing. i used a metal dowel and a hammer to drive the cv out and the thing wouldnt budge. any tips or tricks to getting this thing out??

fredk · 07-11-2006, 10:48 PM

unbolt the bracket from the motor, then take a axle tool or a slender screwdriver and from the other side and drive the axle out

profuse007 · 07-11-2006, 11:45 PM

try using a crowbar and work from the top. get a friend to rotate the shaft as you pry.

marc780 · 07-12-2006, 05:10 AM

I had the same problem with my Sentra. It's far from a sure thing but try a slide hammer, cheapest one i know is from harbor freight. And you might have to jury rig something to wrap around the CV without destroying something, such as a a chain or cable.

mazdaverx7 · 07-12-2006, 09:29 AM

im not above unbolting the axle mount from the block, but i dont see where this will help. i can get a good driving swing on it with a dowel and a hammer and the thing is just stuck. where on the thing should i be prying? i cant afford to damage it.

profuse007 · 07-12-2006, 11:05 AM

the shaft can be pretty stubborn, so you have to put a lot of force into to. pry it at wher you wedged the dowel. rotate as you prying out.

mazdaverx7 · 07-12-2006, 01:05 PM

what exactly holds that sucker in place and prevents it from coming out?

***toyomoho*** · 07-12-2006, 01:34 PM

Sometimes the bearing can be very difficult to remove from the bearing mount (as in frozen in place). Hence the suggestion to remove the mount completely, then work on the unit out of the car. A check of past TN posts on this subject will find more ideas.

bronzemaxell · 07-12-2006, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mazdaverx7

what exactly holds that sucker in place and prevents it from coming out?

i am not sure if this will help, but if you can just forget about removing the axle from the stucked stubborn bearing, proceed to remove all bolts on transmission housing to the engine, then pry apart the engine and transmission, i think the right hand axle will pop out on the transmission end.

mazdaverx7 · 07-12-2006, 03:59 PM

probably what i will do! the subframe will come down and the shaft will then be clear as the trans comes down

JetspeedCamry · 07-12-2006, 04:33 PM

There is a circlip on the spline on the driveshaft the locks it into the gearbox. You must hit it hard enuf to get this circlip to "unclip". Takes a bit of effort :P...and of course make sure you drain all the fluid first haha.

mazdaverx7 · 07-12-2006, 10:24 PM

must take a lot of effort, lol. nothing a 5 pound sludge and a solid steel dowel couldnt fix. i thought that perhaps the right cv wasnt held in by a circlip. it was wishful thinking. i'll give it another try after work friday.

marc780 · 07-12-2006, 11:55 PM

Quote:

what exactly holds that sucker in place and prevents it from coming out?

IMO Many miles of wear. Steel has a 'memory" and pretty much all the torque it recived is forwards. And not lateral. You'd think they'd use anti seize on the splines but the factory puts them in dry.
Try beating it inwards some instead of just pulling outwards. Go back and forth.

Novice_cardude · 07-13-2006, 12:17 AM

Half shafts can be hard to remove, but they're never THAT hard to get out of the transaxle in my experience (which is little)

The bearing housing is siezed in that braket, and it's siezed good.

You have 2 options:

1. Get the whole bracket and bearing cherry red glowing kinda hot with a torch (very risky if you have any oil leak at all) and beat it out.

or

2. Spray PB blaster on there at regular intervals for a couple hours and resume the beating.

1 is not advised as you'll be putting that bearing in and getting it that hot and beating it may damage it.

I'd try the PB blaster or other penetrating oils first, then just pound it like you've been doing, with a metal dowel and plenty of muscle.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

PS: Where'd you pick up all those RX-7s? I'm looking for one as a fun/project car, any advice? PM me please.

mazdaverx7 · 07-13-2006, 07:30 AM

thanks for the advice. i have pb blaster and some sea foam spray, so i'll give that a try. makes sense that the bearing is seized in the bracket. the bracket looks fun to take off, lol. that'll be next if that penetrating oil doesnt do the trick. i just dont want to damage the shaft. its sad that the car only has 115K and the clutch is slipping like oil on ice.